1. Field of the Invention
Removable step climbing assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Periodically the masts on sailing vessels must be climbed to repair or adjust the rigging associated therewith. In the past it has been common practice to permanently secure longitudinally spaced steps to the mast to permit the latter to be climbed for such repair or adjustment purposes. However, although such steps provide convenient means of climbing the mast, they have the operational disadvantage that they increase the resistance of the vessel when the ladder is driven by the wind, and also due to their outwardly projecting configuration become easily entangled with the rigging and lines that form a part of a sailing boat structure.
A primary purpose of devising the present invention is to supply a removable step climbing assembly that may be so operatively associated with a mast that the latter may be climbed with a minimum of inconvenience, and due to the removable nature of the assembly, a substantial protion of the ladder may be removed from the mast when not in use for climbing purposes, and the resistance of the vessel lowered.
Another object of the invention is to supply a removable step climbing assembly that has a simple mechanical structure, is easy to install on a vertical member such as a mast or the like, is compact and easy to use, can be fabricated from standard commercially available materials, and retailed at a sufficiently low pride as to encourage the widespread use thereof on the masts of sailing vessels or other elongate members where such an assembly is desirable.
A still further object of the invention is to supply a removable step climbing assembly that includes brackets secured in spaced relationship to a mast or other upwardly extending rigid member, and a pair of step defining units that are removably securable to the brackets, and the units being automatically interlocked with the brackets when disposed in a person supporting position thereon.